Looking for an exciting and immersive activity that the whole family can enjoy from the comfort of home? Try an escape room delivered to your home and discover whole new worlds! Work with your family to solve intricate puzzles, and unravel the secrets inside.
Escape room subscription boxes have changed our family’s routine and offer more opportunities for bonding and fun. They bring the real-life escape room experience directly to our doorstep. We love problem-solving challenges such as puzzles. With five people in our family, in-person escape rooms can be cost-prohibitive. Luckily, Dispatch by Breakout Games gives everyone the chance to experience an escape room box at home. Recently we did one of their mystery adventure boxes at home and share the experience with you here. (I’ll try not to give any spoilers).
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Thank you to Breakout Games for sending a box set to try out for this article. All opinions are our own.
The Inside Scoop on Escape Room Boxes
An escape room game at home brings the fun and thrill of an in-person experience to your living room. It also is significantly cheaper, which makes it fun for large groups of friends and other families, too. Escape room games challenge participants to solve a series of puzzles and riddles. Sometimes there is a time limit, usually 60 minutes, but you can opt out of the time limit if you’re playing at home.
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With the help of a specially designed escape room subscription box, families can enter a captivating world filled with clues, hidden objects, and mind-bending challenges. Subscription boxes typically include a variety of props, puzzles, and detailed instructions, all centered around a unique theme or storyline. Some popular storylines include a haunted house, a murder mystery, true crime, historical events, or a secret laboratory.
Learn and Have Fun with Escape Rooms
The value of escape room boxes goes beyond just entertainment. They also promote teamwork and collaboration. It takes strong family communication to decipher clues and solve puzzles. One of my favorite parts is that we get to highlight each person’s individual strengths. One of my kids is very precise and analytical while another is a daredevil. Escape rooms bring out the best in both their personalities and skill sets.
Escape room puzzles and challenges require creative thinking, analysis, and application of logical reasoning. They also offer a unique opportunity for immersive learning at home. Historical facts (like ancient Egypt) or scientific principles are often incorporated, allowing children and families to learn while having fun. An interactive and hands-on approach makes learning far more enjoyable and often leads to other rabbit holes of engagement.
At-home escape room games are about immersing participants in an experience/scenario where they have to read the clues and puzzles to solve a problem. Dispatch by Breakout is a mystery game in a box that is delivered to your door. Inside every box is a scenario that sets the stage to have an escape room at home. There are objects, puzzles, and clues to help you solve the scenario. It’s a fun family-friendly experience to take game nights to a whole new level from the comfort of home.
Marlow’s Game: The Cat’s Eye
We tried out the 2 part-box game called Marlow’s Game. The scenario is that an eccentric billionaire has selected us to be part of the hunt for two emerald jewels from an Ancient Egyptian statue. The game is heavily focused on cats and Egyptian history, which we loved.
I don’t want to give too much away here or provide a bunch of spoilers. So I will say that the clues lead you to online components where you find more clues in social media, a few Google searches, and a few videos. The first box was challenging as we had to learn how the game worked and what type of clues we should be looking for.
Luckily, there is online help inside a Facebook group moderated by Dispatch and an independent Youtube review that gives some more helpful hints. That’s all I will say.
Overall Recommendations for Dispatch Escape Room Boxes
There are four stories available on the Dispatch website (as I write this article). Each story varies in length between 2-7 boxes so you can choose your own adventure. The two boxes from Marlow’s Game were estimated to take 120 and 90 minutes respectively. It took us much longer with the first one as we were deciphering the clues and realizing that the apparent answer was almost never the right answer. Players are challenged every step of the way and these games are a great way to build cooperation and teamwork.
The website didn’t have an age recommendation for Marlow’s Game. Our youngest player was 13 years old, and I wouldn’t recommend this for younger children unless they are really good at deciphering clues and can deal with their frustrations easily.
There is a learning curve to figuring out how the boxes and clues work before proceeding with the game itself. It’s a good way to test communication skills and resilience among your family members. Just remember it is a game and meant to be fun – don’t take it too seriously. Overall, we loved our experience in the at-home escape room.
Whether you’re seeking a unique bonding experience with your family, an at-home date night, or a finder-seeker challenge with friends, escape room subscription boxes offer the opportunity to step into a world of mystery and intrigue. Gather your team, sharpen your wits, and prepare for a thrilling escape room experience!
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